There is always a segment of the real-estate market in Italy that is comprised of prestigious homes, and inevitably, this segment of the market always attracts the interest of foreign buyers. This demand is fueled by Europeans and Americans, with Germans leading other nationalities in terms of property searches (20% of searches), ahead of Americans (12%), French and Swiss (both with a share of 8%) and customers from the Netherlands (6%).
The international interest in luxury homes is concentrated mainly in 10 provinces. A staggering 69% of the visits generated by idealista, the leading real estate portal for technological development in Italy, to luxury homes worth more than one million euros, related to these provinces.
The data, disaggregated by province, show the Roman market at the top of the areas of interest for foreign capital, where 12% of searches for luxury homes by foreigners are concentrated. The main stakeholders here are the United States (16%), British (12%), German and Spanish (each with 9% of all searches by foreigners), and finally the French (7%).
Despite a drop in international interest over the pandemic, on the second step of the ranking of the 10 provinces of greatest interest for high-end home buyers is Milan with 10% of searches. The nationalities most interested in Milanese luxury properties are again, the Americans (12%), followed by the British, Swiss (both 10%), French (8%) and Germans (7%).
The third position of the ranking is occupied jointly by Naples and Florence, both with 7% of international searches. In both cases, the most active investors come from the United States, with 26% of searches in the case of Naples and 21% for Florence. Germany follows with 11% in both provinces, then France, and the United Kingdom (both at 8%). In Naples, Spain closes the list with 5% of searches while in the province of Florence, Spain and France both follow the UK with 6% of searches east.
Between the fourth and sixth position the provinces of Como, Brescia and Siena share the same volume of searches (6% for each of them). In all three cases, the nationality most interested in luxury homes is German, with a rate of up to 46% in the case of Brescia, 26% in Siena, 24% in Como. For the second position and beyond, there are differences between the three provinces: the Netherlands (11%), Austria (6%), the United States and Poland (both 4%) follow the Germans in Brescia; Switzerland (14%), United States (10%), Netherlands (7%), and France (6%) come next in Como; And the United States (11%), Switzerland (7%), Poland and the Netherlands (both 6%) round out the list in Siena.
From eighth to tenth position in the ranking we find Venice, Genoa and Lucca, all with the same level of interest from potential international buyers (5% of searches for each area). These markets are seeing greater interest from Germans, with 20% of searches in Venice, 18% in Lucca and 17% in Genoa. The other investors attracted by Venitian luxury come from France (17%), the United States (10%), Austria (6%) and Spain (5%). In Genoa and Lucca the second nationality for real estate searches is US, with 14% in both provinces; and in third place we find the Swiss, with 11% in both cases. The French (7%) and British (6%) respectively occupy the fourth and fifth place in the province of Genoa; while these positions in luxury property searches in Lucca are occupied by those from the Netherlands (8%) and the UK (6%).
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